Opposites Attract?
by wootitup918
Summary: A modern day Zutara AU. Two very different teens seem to have a similar past, which could change their future.
1. Chapter 1

**Opposites Attract?**

**a 21****st**** Century Zutara AU**

**Disclaimer: no… I do NOT own ATLA, obviously, but Mike and Bryan DO.**

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_Water covered Katara's arms. It was a little scary, but extremely cool at the same time. Katara blinked, moving her arms around, testing these tentacle-like things. _

"_Kataraaa," a voice hissed in her ear._

"MISS. HIRO!"

Katara snapped out of sleep, awoken by her Language Arts teacher. Students snickered and giggled as Jet pulled a pencil off of her face. "Maybe you'd like to take a little nap in the office, instead?"

"No, Mr. Pakku. It won't happen again," Katara muttered. Mr. Pakku raised an eyebrow, but went back to teaching.

"Smooth, Katara. Way to be subtle," Jet rolled his eyes.

"Was it obvious?" Katara asked, yawning again.

"If you call flailing your arms in random directions while muttering some unknown language to be obvious… then yes." Jet spun back around, writing something in his notebook. Katara tried to concentrate on Mr. Pakku's classes, but it was hard when he was discussing grammar.

She glanced around the gloomy class room that looked like every other class at Ba Sing High. The walls were gray, the floor a teal tile with assorted desks placed in rows of five. Basically everyone went to Ba Sign High, since it was the only public school in twenty miles. It also had a unique method when it came to teaching, making it semi-fun.

The high school was divided into four sections- air, water, fire, and earth. You were put into each section based on a personality test you took at the beginning of the year. Every month the groups would get together and have competitions to prove who was superior, getting treated special for that month by a group of your choice. The group who won the most competitions by the end of the year received an extra 10 points in one of the classes for final term.

Katara was part of the water sector which was broken down into two parts: northern and southern (no one could ever figure out why, just tradition, Katara supposed). Katara was southern, with her brother, Sokka, while Sokka's girlfriend, Yue, was in northern. Aang was in the air sector, while Toph was part of the earth sector.

"Hey, Katara!" A bubbly voice sounded behind her, as she was packing up her L.A. things.

"Ty Lee?" Katara asked. Ty Lee never talked to Katara…. Ever. She guessed it was something about wanting to hook up with Sokka, but Katara didn't really care.

"Who else?" She giggled, slapping Katara lightly in the arm. "Want to ha-" Ty Lee stopped short and ran full speed ahead after some guy.

"Weird…" She muttered and walked to lunch.

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Zuko leaned against the cold brick building. Though the ground was freezing, he wasn't cold… Zuko never seemed to be cold. He raised a small brass lighter in his hands, only a few inches away from his face. He looked at the flame and ran his finger quickly across the fire. It didn't hurt… it never did, and Zuko thought it was strange. No matter how slowly he ran his finger across the flame, he felt nothing.

His scar, on the other hand, hurt like hell when his father burned it. Of course- Ozai told him that the fire in the kitchen was an accident, but Zuko knew… Zuko knew that he was a disappointment to his 'dad', and that it probably wasn't an accident at all.

The lighter wasn't for smoking, it was just to remind him of his misery. Normal people wouldn't want to be reminded of their loss and pain, but Zuko knew he couldn't hide from it; he saw no point in trying to cover it up.

"Hey." Zuko knew that monotone voice anywhere. He glanced up and saw none other than Mai, looking at him as if he were the most pathetic human being alive.

"Hi." He said in reply, standing up. "I should be going now." Zuko tried to escape, but Mai clung on to his sleeve, grinning menacingly.

Zuko knew Mai wasn't strong enough compared to him. He jerked his arm away angrily. "I have to go, Mai." Zuko told her, through clenched teeth. He was so sick of her and her twisted mind getting him into trouble. He let go of her and walked away, not looking back.

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Katara walked across the cafeteria with her Sloppy Joe sandwich. She didn't actually eat it, but they were required to buy something, or bring something, because they wanted you to stay healthy. Go figure, right? Katara was focused on not tripping in her skirt. It was the first time she'd ever actually WORN a skirt, and because she lost the bet with Toph on who Sokka was going to go out with, she was in a skirt that was considered too short for her long legs.

All of a sudden, Katara felt someone slam into her, making her drop her lunch all over herself.

"EXCUSE YOU!" Katara yelled, turning around, looking at her slopped body. The boy looked at her with pure hatred burning in his golden eyes. "Are you going to apologize?" Katara crossed her arms over her chest. Bored kids started watching them, awaiting the boy's next move.

"If I was going to say sorry, I would have done it already." He hissed at her, then started walking away.

"Why, are you too proud to, or is it just because you're a jerk?" She tapped her foot.

"You want to see a jerk?" He asked, walking towards her. He grabbed her wrist, and before she knew what was happening, he hooked her arms behind her back knocking her to the ground. Teacher's were running towards them. "Poor little rich girl, with the perfect life…" Katara glared at him, trying to get him off her back. Everyone was too stunned to get any closer to the pair. "Wouldn't your mother be proud." The boy hissed into her ear, arousing Katara, somehow giving her strength.

"No one… talks… about… my… MOTHER!" Katara screamed, jabbing her elbow into his gut. She could tell he was taken by surprise, and had enough vulnerability to lighten up, giving Katara enough time to get him off of her.

Everyone started getting angry, following their lead. The biggest brawl ever to occur at this school was cause by these two mere teenagers, over a simple Sloppy Joe mess. People were punching, screeching, and kicking, not being effected by the teachers attempts to calm them all down.

The principal was notified of this brawl and grabbed a blow horn, yelling into it. "EVERYBODY STOP!" Everybody froze in place, staring up at her. "You two…" he growled, pointing at Katara and the boy. Katara's insides felt nervous, and she let go of his shirt and lowered her fist at the same time that he let go of her hair, "Come with me."

Katara felt everybody's eyes on them as they followed the principal to the office for whatever trouble was doomed to come their way.

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**So. This is the first chapter, hoped you enjoyed. Yes, I have whooping cough and am on meds woohoo. No, it sucks. Seriously. So hopefully I will be getting better sooner or later, but I'm already writing chapter 2.**

**Review, please?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Opposites Attract?**

**a 21****st**** Century Zutara AU**

**Disclaimer: once again… I do NOT own ATLA, Mike and Bryan Do. (:**

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"You could have just apologized Y'know…" Katara told Zuko. He just rolled his eyes, not caring what this girl had to say. "And then we wouldn't be here."

"I've been here before, so I really don't care. No matter what I'm still a disappointment." Zuko realized he'd showed some vulnerability, and was sure that the girl, Katara, was about to comfort him.

The principal's door opened slowly, giving a loud creaking noise. Zuko raised an eyebrow as an elder woman walked in, hugging Katara. Sokka's talked about their family, but never this lady.

"Hi Gran-Gran…" Katara muttered, hugging the woman.

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"YOU…" Gran-Gran shook a wrinkled finger the boy. "Stay away from my grand-daughter!" She inched closer to his face, examining him. "Understood?" She hissed into his ear.

"Whatever." He said, not flinching. Katara knew this wouldn't end well, and waited for her grandma to reply.

"I said… UNDERSTOOD?!?" She barked into his ear, startling the angst-ridden teenager.

"Yes, ma'am." He said. As she walked out of the door with Gran-Gran, Katara stuck a tongue out at him, though she knew that she'd be getting similar treatment.

"Sorry, Gran-Gran." Katara muttered as they walked to Katara's locker, to get her things.

"You should be lucky that you didn't get a week of suspension for this. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" She hollered, filling the silence in the halls.

"That kid…"

"Zuko." Gran-Gran said.

"What?" Katara didn't know what she was talking about.

"The boy's name is Zuko."

"Oh… well then, _Zuko _just got me so mad." They stood at her locker and Katara dialed her code in, then kicking it so it would open. "He was talking about my… mother." Tears were welling up in her eyes, but she held them back.

"Katara, dear… I love you, but you can't keep feeding into this emotion." Her grandmother rubbed her back comfortingly as Katara slammed her locker shut.

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"What did you say to her?" Zuko's uncle, Iroh, asked him.

"Nothing." Zuko muttered, though they both knew it was a lie.

"You can't keep doing this. You're ruining your life, nephew." Zuko didn't care, his school sucked anyway. He could be expelled permanently for all anyone cared.

"It's not like anyone would care anyways, Uncle." Iroh shook his head and muttered something under his breath, but Zuko wasn't listening. He just glared out the window at all the dead, snow-covered trees. The ride was silent and seemed very long.

When they got to their large house in the northern section of town, he ran up to his room with out another word. Zuko laid down on his unkempt bed, thinking of a way to let out his anger.

"Smoking… not good, don't want to die of lung cancer. Erm… drinking? No… where on earth am I suppose to get alcohol when uncle won't even let me drink soda unless it's a holiday?" All of a sudden, Zuko thought of the knives they had in the kitchen. He sat upright on his bed, but didn't move. "Too risky… don't want to slice a major artery or something." Zuko hated that he had nothing to let his anger out on… he was forced to live with all of this hatred bundled up inside of him.

That, he supposed, was the worst punishment of all.

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**Yay, another chapter! Yeah, Yeah, It's short... I know. But two chapters in one night? Pretty good if I do say so myself. So enjoy!**

**Oh... and review please. I will love you for eternity. (not really, but as logn as you live. you get it.)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Opposites Attract?**

**a 21****st**** Century Zutara AU**

**Disclaimer: I own a pen with a frog on it, but Mike and Brian own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

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Katara stood inside the goalie's box at the southern end of the school's soccer field. She put her hands on her white basketball shorts with the light blue stripes in the side of them. They barely fit on her small hips, but the students weren't aloud to wear anything else to gym, so she sucked it up. On her matching light blue gym shirt, "Ba Sing High Water Athletics" was written in big white letters across her chest.

"Hey Katara!" Ty Lee's peppy, innocent voice, chimed in as she emerged from the girl's locker room. Katara turned around and watched Ty Lee run towards her in her red and white gym clothes that said, "Ba Sing High Fire Athletics," since she was in the fire sector. "Sorry about leaving the other day… short attention span sometimes." She tapped her pointer finger to her head a few times and giggled. Katara gave a fake giggle back.

"So what's your punishment for the lunch brawl with Zuko yesterday?" Ty Lee asked, giving her an elbow in the ribs.

"You were there?" Katara asked, questionably.

"No, I had a different lunch than you yesterday, but I wish I was. EVERYONE'S talking about it." She insisted. Katara pulled up her shorts a little bit and gave a weak smile. "So… what's your punishment?" Ty Lee repeated.

"I have to help out the janitors after school with Zuko for a few weeks." Ty Lee gave her a bright smile. "What?" Katara asked, a little worried that something was wrong.

"After school, alone with Zuko-"

"And the janitors." Katara filled in.

"Fine." Ty Lee put an arm around Katara, squeezing her, sticking the other arm out in front of them. "You and Zuko, and the janitors, alone in the dark hallways… forgetting how ugly our school really is." Katara gave her a sickish face. "Can you picture it?"

"Yes, and I think I'm going to puke." Katara took Ty Lee's arm off her. "He's such a jerk."

"Yeah.. But a HOT jerk." Katara just rolled her eyes. "Mmmm… just like him." Ty Lee pointed to some boy from the earth district who was checking her out.

"Go ahead." Katara said and Ty Lee was off. "Me and… Zuko?" Katara laughed. "Not gonna happen."

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"EVERYBODY!!!" Their Phys Ed teacher barked, and all the students in class 09 ran over to Ms. Jun. Katara ran from the goalie net and over to the group of kids who were standing in a group around Ms. Jun. Ty Lee moved from her place next to the cute boy and over towards Katara.

"Hottie, isn't it?" Ty Lee winked at him. "His name's Teo."

"Mhm." Katara agreed. Ty Lee did what she seemed to do all the time- giggle.

"GIRLS!" Ms. Jun snapped at them, only a few inches away from their faces. "Are you going to keep quiet? Or would you rather have a detention, instead?!?" The two girls shook their head and gave a nervous glance at each other, and as the teacher walked to where she originally stood, Ty Lee looked like she was about to explode with laughter. Her face made Katara's lips turn into a smile, and she tried to keep her laugh inside of her. Ty Lee's face got more obscure and her eyes started watering up, and Katara could tell that Ty Lee couldn't keep it in much longer. Katara didn't know why Ty Lee was about to laugh, but the look of her face looked and how some kids glanced at them, Katara was doubled over in laughter. Ty Lee was laughing right behind her.

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"Isn't this considered child abuse?" Katara asked Ty Lee, who just shrugged. Ms. Jun was furious, so they were the goalies as twenty students were practicing their free kicks. Ty Lee wasn't the least bit embarrassed about the situation, but she could tell that Katara was. They both squealed as some of the big soccer stars kicked as hard as they could into the net.

"Do you know how to be a goalie?" Ty Lee asked Katara.

"No clue." She replied, and awkwardly ducked a ball kicked at what seemed like 80mph.

"HARDER KIDS! YOU"LL NEVER MAKE IT ONTO THE AMERICAN SOCCER TEAM!" Ms. Jun hollered, blowing her whistle.

"I think she's trying to kill us!" Ty Lee squeaked as someone kicked it right into her stomach, but luckily she caught it, though it whammed into her pretty hard. Ty Lee threw it back hitting the boy in the shoulder. She grasped her stomach, feeling the pain surge through her. "I think I'm gonna puke." Katara giggled, but soon realized that she was serious and stopped.

"Ms. Jun!" Ty Lee heard Katara call as she hunched over the ground, with one hand over her mouth, and the other clenching her stomach. "Ms. Jun, Ty Lee's going to puke!" The teacher stared at her in disbelief as Katara tugged on Ty Lee's arm and they both ran to the wooded area, Katara staying back a few feet. The hot moist air made her feel even more nauseous and with a heave, she puked up a sickly colored liquid.

She fell onto her back. "Ewwww." Ty Lee groaned, making Katara snicker a little bit. "Hey!" She turned around facing Katara. "It's not funny." Ty Lee smiled at her new friend, and the rest of the class hurried over to the two girls.

"You didn't SERIOUSLY puke Ty Lee, did you?" Jet asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Wanna go see?" She said, giving him a disgusted face, and wiped her mouth with her shirt.

"YEAH!" Jet smiled, and lead a group of boys to look.

"WOAH! She seriously puked!" Teo said, giving Jet a high-five.

"The immaturity of the human race…" Ms. Jun shook her head. "Everyone," The teacher started, sounding sweet. "GET BACK TO THE SOCCER FIELD!" The disappointed boys, and the disgusted girls formed a group and headed towards the field. "Now for you two." Katara and Ty Lee stood up, giving a sheepish Ms. Jun sheepish smiles. "Locker rooms now. Gym's over for you two… but I would like a word with you when everybody's done changing."

She jogged back to the kids, blowing into her whistle, leaving the two alone. "Well that was an interesting class." Katara said, looking at Ty Lee, who smiled a megawatt smile at her new friend.

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"So why were you laughing before?" Katara asked Ty Lee, who started laughing just at the thought of it. They walked together over the plush grass to get to the old building with their rusted up lockers in them.

"Well, I was looking at Ms. Jun walking back, when I noticed Jet…" Jet was the school's comedian, so she could understand that Jet was doing something goofy. "and he was chewing on…"

"The piece of straw he's always has in his mouth?" Jet was funny, but she never found a blade of straw to be rather amusing.

"No, no, silly! It was this long piece of grass." She spread her arms out in front of them, just to show Katara how long it was. "I mean… this thing was HUGE and LONG! It was longer than Jet's height." Katara snickered. "He was DEVOURING THE THING!" Katara could now see how it was funny, and started to giggle with Ty Lee at the thought of it.

The two girls went the rest of the way talking about mindless and random things until they made it to their lockers. Katara changed into her White tee shirt and dark blue jeans. She wrapped her mother's old necklace around her neck, and hooked the back together so that it stayed on. Slipping on her gray converse sneakers, she grabbed her things and met Ty Lee at the gym door.

Ty Lee adjusted her white tank top that was underneath her baby pink sweater. When they got into the gymnasium, their classmates walked into their locker rooms to change, while the two sat on the bleachers, fixing whatever they thought looked wrong with them.

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**I noticed that Katara didn't seem to have many coughcoughat allcoughcough friends in her own grade, so I decided to add Ty Lee to her related arts classes. I mean... Katara's amazing, Ty Lee's amazing, and I think it would be a fun friendship to write about. So I did. And YES I DID put Teo on my story! Poor lil fella, never really recognized for his coolness. And he doesn't have a wheelchair yet, but don't worry, he will. Hope that you enjoy, and reviews would be so awesome right now! I need some ressurance that it doesn't stink on ice. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Opposites Attract?**

**a 21****st**** Century Zutara AU**

**Disclaimer: Ok, so when I went to get an MRI the guy gave met 5 of these really cool lollipop things that, when you press a button, they light up, (I am eating one now) but sadly… well, you all know- I don't own A:TLA**

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"Bye Sokka!" Katara called as she walked to the school doors. Sokka just sat there, as if she was going to get kidnapped with the mere six feet that remained between her and Ba Sing High. Once she heaved the doors open and walked into the empty darkened halls, her overprotective brother started his engine and drove off.

Folding her arms across her gray tee-shirt, Katara wandered around the school aimlessly- not knowing what she was suppose to be doing.

"Are you Katara?" A deep voice called behind her. Katara snapped around, and saw an older man wearing a greasy shirt and torn faded jeans. His hiker boots clunked against the tile flooring as he walked closer to her.

"Um, yeah." Katara slowly replied.

"Well, we have your buddy starting out in the gym, so you can help him." Katara twisted her face at the thought of being alone with him.

"Couldn't I just- y'know- help you guys out… somewhere far, far away from him?" She offered, biting her bottom lip until it hurt.

"Kid… I don't think that's what this punishment is for." The janitor gave her a stern look.

"What? Why?" Katara asked, almost whined. The man just replied by giving her a hard stare until she relented and made her way to the gym. It took a while to get there, and she pretended she was lost for a little bit. Eventually, though, she had to accept her fate, and entered the doors to the gym.

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The doors creaked as a small dark-skinned hand pushed the door open. Katara stood in the doorway giving Zuko a hollow look that caused him to stop sweeping. It was silent for a while, then he started sweeping again, and Katara started dusting the bleachers. He could tell that Katara glanced at him briefly a few times. For a while, it stayed silent and Katara was growing used to it. But the silence was broken as a steady rain pattered against the hollow school building, echoing throughout the gym and bouncing off the walls and floor. This sudden noise made Katara stop and look around the chipped paint walls.

"Is… is that _rain_?" Katara asked, stunned. It hadn't rained in weeks- maybe even months.

"Nice observation." Zuko said with a smirk laid across his lips- obviously amused with her. Katara just rolled her eyes. Personally- Katara loved the rain; it seemed to wash all her troubles away from her. And things had just gotten so bad lately… she needed a good rain.

"Well, aren't we polite…" Katara said, jumping off of the bleachers and walking towards the janitor supplies. For a moment, she caught Zuko's eye, but he quickly turned around and Katara grabbed another towel. For a few hours the pair was back to work until the gym was almost finished.

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Zuko's rain boots squeaked against the tile flooring of the school hallways. This was their second day of working on the gym. They hadn't quite finished last night, so that morning the principal told them to finish it, then work on the cafeteria. It had been raining nonstop and a few hours ago it began to thunder and lightning- flickering the lights on and off as he made his way to the gym.

All was silent until he heard a faint voice saying some sort of slurred noise. He must say- the silence was nice.

"Ayohayohayohay, endthevocesrngliketheangelsng," The noise got louder and louder with each step he took towards the gym. Zuko wasn't scared, because he knew it was that twit attempting to sing. As he pushed open the doors with a loud creak, Katara stopped singing, and took her headphones off, leaving the earphones around her neck. She smiled and gave a small wave, but he decided to ignore her. Zuko wasn't looking for friends.

"Why are you so rude to me?" The girl asked, putting her hands on her hips. Zuko raised in eyebrow and looked at her in the eye. She stormed over to him. "Here I am; trying to be nice and friendly… and _what_ do you do?" she paused- as if Zuko was going to answer. "You _ignore _me!"

"I don't need to be friends with some snobby little rich girl." Zuko glared at her right in the eyes. She stared back at him, not budging an inch. "I have enough problems as is, aright? I don't care how great your life is!" He watched her as she held back tears.

"You think that _my_ life is great?" She choked through clenched teeth. "You think that _I'm_ rich?" She stepped back a little bit and shook her head. "Then _you _have a lot to learn." She turned her back from him and they stood there few a little bit in total silence. Neither one dared to move. Zuko couldn't tell what he was feeling; whether it was anger, regret, or sadness. "My… mother died." She whispered so softly that Zuko could barely make out what she said.

"I'm…" Zuko started saying something when she looked at him, but couldn't finish his thought.

"When I was only little; 5 years-old. She was coming back from a business trip for her company. It was really dark out, the roads were slippery… and a truck hit her car." Katara started crying, but continued through shallow breaths. "She b-burned in that ca-ar, along wi-th th-the man in the tru-uck." At this Katara's eyes were read and her face looking irritated from the tears. Zuko wanted to comfort her, but with every step he took towards her, she took a step back.

"I'm sorry." Was all Zuko could say.

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**Deep, deep, chapter. But next chapter will be brighter, and yes- Zutara will happen. I'm only delaying it this long because I want to build up to the relationship.**

**OMG! It snowed today! I only had a half day of school! Yay. Everyone was happy. I was at art when we found out about the half day. Everyone was screaming, but of course- she yelled: EVERYONE SHUT UP ALREADY! BLAHBLABLAHBLAHBLAH!!! She actually gave kids detentions because of it. **

**Way to put a damper on things, right?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Opposites Attract?**

**a 21****st**** Century Zutara AU**

**Disclaimer: I own a clock telling me that it is 1 AM, (I will soon be smashin it due to random alarm beep noises o.0) but no… Ima loser and do not own Avatar:TLA**

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Katara wasn't sure of what had happened the rest of the night; all she could remember was crying. Katara had always known that talking about her mom hurt, and she wasn't so sure why she'd opened up to Zuko like that. She didn't even remember going to sleep, and awoke the next morning feeling dead. Though her room wasn't cold, she was bundled up in her blankets staring at some dent in he wall.

"Katara…" She heard Sokka sound from her doorway. Immediately focusing towards him, Katara noticed that his eyes were sympathetic and his posture slouched with tiredness. "Are you ok?" He asked, walking towards the bed and sitting at the end.

"Mhm." Katara nodded. After a few minutes of pure awkward silence, Sokka rubbed her shoulder and left. She just laid there, trying to remember what had happened after she told Zuko about her mother- but nothing came to her. Stripping the sheets off of her body, Katara slowly made her way towards her closet door and grabbed a navy blue zip-up, put it on, and left the room with unkempt hair and her plaid pajamas loose on her hips.

After brushing her teeth and giving a quick goodbye to Gran-Gran, Katara left for school- not bothering to get a ride from her brother.

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For a few days, Katara had been depressed about her mom. She barely remember anything about her childhood except her mother's death. It was alright for a while because Katara had been covering it up- but now, bringing back the memories… she wasn't ok. People noticed that she wasn't eating and that she barely talked. No one ever really heard from her, and they were all scared.

Aang was the first to notice, and so he talked to her, but didn't get anywhere. Haru and Jet tried too, but failed miserably. Just a little while ago, as Katara was attempting to open her locker, Toph had confronted her, but was too fed up with Katara's stubbornness to help any further.

A few times, Katara had seen Zuko outside of cleaning duty- but neither one said a word to each other. Katara wasn't sure if it was because they were still bitter towards the other, or because they were too shy to rekindle the pain she'd experienced a few nights ago.

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Zuko didn't understand what was going on. Ever since Katara had opened up to him about her mother, he couldn't stop thinking about her. It wasn't that he _liked_ her or anything… actually, he barely even knew anything about her except the fact that she shared a past that was all to familiar with him. Lately, he'd been trying to talk to her, but every time he came close, Katara would just walk away with a blank expression as if he wasn't even there.

Zuko was used to being invisible, but it usually didn't hurt this badly when he was left by himself, looking like the biggest loser on the planet. He'd noticed lately, that Ty Lee had been giving him looks- as if he were to blame for Katara's pain. She'd talked to him about it, trying to get Zuko to spill about what happened between him and her new "best friend". Of course- Zuko didn't want Ty Lee to get the wrong impression, so he left her wondering each time… though he did smirk every now and again at her expression as she begged for details.

No one could tell whether Zuko was in a bad mood- because he didn't really have any friends to notice. Days had gone by and every time he and Katara were cleaning up after school together, things were silent. She'd either bring her iPod to tune him out, or just ignore the world around her. Zuko actually missed her bubbly-yet-slightly-annoying personality.

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As Katara kicked her locker open to take out her books for homework, she heard footsteps come up to her side.

"Heyyy." Ty Lee gave her a squeeze. Katara stood there. "Well…" She took a step back, looking Katara straight in the eyes. "you've been in a really bad mood lately, I know, so I decided that I'm sleeping over your house tonight… I mean, what else are Friday nights for?" She missed hanging out with Ty Lee, and things had been so bad lately, that Katara needed someone else to talk to.

"Sure…"

"Ok, I got some DVDs and you have popcorn, I'm guessing," Ty Lee slammed her locker shut, and took Katara by the wrist. Katara didn't hear the rest of Ty Lee's conversation, for she was distracted by a certain boy. A boy who was propped up against the school wall giving her a look… one that she couldn't quite decipher.

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**GAHH! I'm sorry, this chapter isn't exactly "happy-go-nutty-sundae-sunshine". But the next one will probably. I'm sorry- I'd write more, but my neck and head will have internal bleeding if I continue to stay up much later.**

**(YAWWWWWNS with frustrated tiredness)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Opposites Attract?**

**a 21****st**** Century Zutara AU**

**Disclaimer: Tonight I am writing this through the light of my laptop and TV. I don't even know what time it is… seriously. I broke my clock after it woke me up at 2 30 one morning. And my computer clock is off by, I don't even know how long. So if you can come up with some snazzy thing for me to say, so that I have a more creative way of stating that I don't own Avatar, then please tell me- I'm all ears. I'm writing these things so late now that I can't even think of anything interesting to put as a disclaimer.**

**P.S. I do **_**not **_**own A:TLA**

**Ok. Does anyone know how to add a category? Because I want to make an ****Enchanted**** fanfic, but there's no category for it under movies. So please message or review me your answer if you know how.**

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Katara stumbled behind Ty Lee, as she dragged Katara to Sokka's car.

"You guys ready?" Sokka asked. Katara was about to object, when Ty Lee covered her mouth so she couldn't speak. Prying Ty Lee's hand off her mouth, Katara spoke up.

"But… shouldn't I be cleaning the school tonight?" She stammered, as Ty Lee rolled her eyes and leaned over the seat.

"Step on it, cutie." She whispered, playing with Sokka's hair a little bit, causing his cheeks to turn pink. The sight made Katara feel ill down to her stomach.

"You know that Sokka's dating Yue, right?" She whispered, and Ty Lee nodded, giving a devious smile. Typical Ty Lee. It didn't take the three a long time to get to the Hiro resident with all their talking and giggling. Ty Lee gaped her mouth open as they came up to the big white house.

"Are you guys… rich or something?" She jabbed Katara in the side with her elbow, gray eyes still wide in amazement.

"No… we only have this house because the government helps pay for it." Sokka told her.

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Since they'd finished the gym, it was time for the two to start working on the cafeteria. Zuko heaved all the cleaning supplies into the vacant room- which still smelled of nachos and "cheese". Though you couldn't tell if you looked at him, Zuko was incredibly disgusted.

Picking up a sponge, Zuko began scrubbing at the 70s-inspired tables. The school seemed oddly quiet and even a little isolated. That was probably why he enjoyed being at Ba Sing High. Everything around that certain building was busy and roaring with life… everything except BSH. Zuko could relate to it. Not being noticed except for the many flaws. Zuko wasn't cool or popular, just an anti-social dork. After a little while, he stopped working for a second, opening his mouth to apologize to the young girl for his actions the other day, when Zuko realized- Katara wasn't there.

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"Ty Lee… I really think I should be helping out in the cafeteria." It wasn't that she didn't like hanging out with her, but Katara had responsibilities to take care of. It wasn't right for Katara to leave Zuko to clean by himself.

"C'mon Katara- ole Zuko can do it by himself. He's tough." She was a still a little unsure, but Ty Lee had already tuned out the world and begun debating whether to put Cry Wolf, or One Missed Call into the DVD player. Katara sighed, her stomach growing an uncomfortable feeling. She didn't back out on commitments- it wasn't what she was used to doing.

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It had been an hour and a half since he started working- and still no sign of Katara. Zuko was aggravated, and was sick of sponging everything down all by himself. Today they were suppose to be doing all the tables and chairs. But _they _weren't going to finish it… no, _Zuko _was going to finish it. All he had to do was put the chairs up and he would be done.

Zuko had to admit though- it wasn't as much fun without having Katara with him, even though they didn't speak much. She sort of gave him the feeling that he wasn't alone. And sure, sometimes it was nice to be isolated to the world and be alone… but other times, it was just nice to have someone with him who he could relate to.

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Ten minutes ago, Katara was in her own house with Ty Lee and Sokka as the two got pumped after deciding which movie to watch. Nine minutes ago, Katara decided that she didn't want to watch the movie. And five minutes ago, Katara had left the house without even putting a jacket on over her hoodie. She just up and left, making her way down the hill and across the busy streets of Ba Sing Sa until she made her way up another hill and into the doors closest to the cafeteria. Speed-walking her way there as if she was on a mission from god, Katara passed the other janitors. They seemed to give her a glance that said that they were proud of her for actually coming, though Katara wasn't sure _how_ they knew she wasn't there, but whatever.

There they were- the doors. She broke out into a run so that she could do something, _anything, _to help him, even though she realized that running wouldn't do much good. Looking at the clock on the dimly lit walls, Katara could tell that she was two hours late. She heaved the doors open and found Zuko almost done.

"Zuko…" Katara put her hands on her knees and looked up at him golden eyes. "I'm really sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Zuko threw a dirty sponge into a bucket of murky water. "I already finished." He looked hurt, with a twist of anger burning in him.

"Damn it." Katara sighed under her breath. Zuko grabbed his coat and headed out of the cafeteria, but stopped before he reached the door.

"Do… you have a ride or anything?" Katara's whole face fell as he said that. She couldn't quite comprehend why he'd ask. First, she got them both into clean up duty by starting a fight with him, then she goes and ditches him, unable to just tell Ty Lee she had to go and _actually _leave. Now he was offering to give her a ride to her house?

Remembering that Zuko was staring at her, and she looked like a total idiot, Katara said, "Um, no, I don't, but you really don't have to." Sure Zuko wasn't always that nice to her before and really pissed her off- basically mocking her sorry excuse for a family _twice- _but still, Katara felt that he shouldn't be doing this.

"It's ok. I really don't mind. I… kind of need to talk to you about something." Zuko ran his hand through his thick long hair and right into his front pockets. "Besides, its going to start raining again soon, and you don't look like your well prepared for it." Katara looked at her outfit and frowned. She really wasn't.

"Alright… I guess." The silence was a little awkward as the two teens walked through the empty halls and into the parking lot. It had been non-stop rain for the last few days, and it didn't look like it was planning on stopping.

Zuko got into his car and started the engine, Katara getting in the front seat as well.

"So, what did you want to tell me about?" She asked as they were driving through the city.

"About yesterday…" he started, taking a quick smooth turn onto a back road. "I'd like to apologize." Katara looked at him, her eyes widened with disbelief. "I just assumed… by the stories your brother told the class."

"Oh." was all she could manage. The two didn't talk for the rest of the ride, other than Katara giving Zuko directions to her house. Zuko pulled up in front of her house and got out of the car as she unbuckled her seat belt. He opened the door for her and walked her up to her house.

"Erm… thanks for the ride." The rain had really started going again and just the walk up to her house drenched them head to toe.

"No problem. I guess- that I said those things to you because I couldn't really believe that someone had gone through the same thing as me…" Katara nodded, Zuko didn't need to tell her. She could guess that his mother died, too.

"Well, despair is found in many different places… and you can't really avoid it." She looked up at him, but not into his eyes. To tell the truth, Katara wasn't quite sure exactly _what _she was looking at. "I believe… everyone has gone through some sort of sadness in their lives- something that you just can't get past. And you can't keep those feeling's bottled up inside. They happen for a reason, and that's why you have people in your life… they can help you get through the good times along with the bad."

She could tell that Zuko was really thinking about what she had said. Zuko responded with a simple nod and was walked away. Katara couldn't say that she wasn't watching him leave- because she was. She definitely was.

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Zuko put his hands on the steering wheel and made sure that Katara had gotten into her house. He words replayed in his head over and over again.

…_that's why you have people in your life._

That got him thinking- not just about himself or the girl, but of his uncle.

…_they can help you get through the good times,_

And he realized- that his uncle had. Though Zuko never appreciated him- his Uncle Iroh had tried making him a better person and took him in when nobody else would. No matter what, his uncle would stand by him. That's when Zuko realized that his uncle, not only attempted to make him better… but would never let him fall alone. Even though Zuko never listened before, and never took the _time _to listen.

…_along with the bad._

* * *

**I'm so sorry to keep you guys waiting. I feel really bad. Seriously. I do. I haven't had **_**any **_**time at all to write.**

**Ok, so there's a story behind the nachos and cheese that I couldn't help but put in. So, after lunch (we had nachos and cheese that day.) during home tech- after I'd finished everything that was needed for term 1- I was suppose to clean out the tin cans placed in the sink so that my teacher could use them for… something, I don't know what. Any-who… I could smell this disgusting putrid odor coming from the tin cans that I was supposed to clean out. I went over to the sink, and there was this chunky orange-yellow gunk all on the sides and bottom. My stomach was just about to pop, when I read the label. It said:**

"**Mild Cheddar Cream of Cheese Sauce"**

**In big letters… well, let's just say that I don't buy school food anymore… **_**ever**_

**Review? I will bow at your feet and love you mucho!**


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